One Day at a Time

August 26, 2024September 4, 2024 / thewritelife61 / 2 Comments

For this Reboot series, we are ending with One Day at a Time. This show was about a divorced mom, Ann Romano (Bonnie Franklin) whose father is not in the picture much anymore. She moves her two teenaged daughters, Barbara (Valerie Bertinelli) and Julie (Mackenzie Phillips) from Logansport, Indiana to Indianapolis. Barbara is the funny daughter who is always doing the right thing, while Julie is rebellious and angry. Schneider (Pat Harrington Jr.) is their building supervisor, and he takes on a bit of a parental role with the girls.

In the early seasons, Ann dates her divorce lawyer David (Richard Masur). However, after becoming engaged, Ann realizes David wants children of his own and she is not ready to go down that road again, so they break up. Her ex remarries and he eventually enters their lives again.

Julie marries Max (Michael Lembeck), a flight attendant, and they eventually have a daughter. Barbara marries a dental student Mark (Boyd Gaines). In the finale, Ann decides to take a job in London and Schneider moves to Florida to take care of his niece and nephew.

The series was created by husband-and-wife team Whitney Blake and Allan Manings. Blake was Dorothy Baxter on Hazel. Blake based the show on her experiences as a single mother raising three children. It debuted in 1975 and aired until 1984.

Franklin was not happy with the scripts in the first season. She said that she threatened to quit unless the quality improved for the second season.

Phillips dealt with substance abuse, and she was fired after the fifth season. She did come back later for a few appearances. When she entered rehab in 1980, the plot was that Julie and Max moved to Houston. In the seventh season, she returned for a two-part episode. In the final season, she collapsed on the set. When the producer asked her to take a urinalysis test, she told them not to bother and she was fired for the last time. Lembeck continued with the show, and he raised their daughter after it was said Julie left them. While Phillips was unkind, to put it nicely, to Bertinelli early in the series, they eventually became closer. Bertinelli was one of the few people who stood by her after she released a shocking autobiography. Later Glenn Scarpelli joined the cast as Alex. His father had been Ann’s boyfriend and after his father dies in a car accident, Alex asks to move in with Ann and Barbara.

Family members Nanette Fabray and Shelly Fabares both took roles in the series; Nanette played Ann’s mom and Shelly was a coworker. Howard Hesseman also joined the cast as Sam who would marry Ann.

The show was filmed before a studio audience. That surprised me a bit. I went back to watch a few shows for this blog, and I was surprised how dark the series was for a sitcom. Many of the shows, especially Norman Lear shows, were not very light-hearted. I remember liking this show as a teenager/young adult, but I must admit, they were hard to sit through the second time around, and it is not a show that I would choose to watch again.

The theme song was “This Is It.” Brill Building composed the music with lyrics by Jeff and Nancy Barry. Polly Cutter sang the song.

It is amazing that the show did so well in the ratings because it was moved around on the schedule eleven times during its run. For most of its life, it was in the top 20.

The show still had decent ratings after its nine seasons, but Franklin decided she was ready to be done. Harrington was the only cast member to win an Emmy. A 1984 spinoff was discussed for Schneider, but that show never came to fruition. It seems fitting for Harrington to win the Emmy. He has 166 acting credits, and appeared in movies with Elvis Presley and Robert Redford. He said 100 actors auditioned for the role of Schneider. He said that he was a family man with four kids and needed to put food on the table, so he went for it.

In 2005, there was a One Day at a Time Reunion on CBS. Franklin, Phillips, Bertinelli, and Harrington discussed their time on the show. The documentary featured private interviews with Masur, Fabares, Fabray, Lembeck, and Scarpelli.

At least three seasons were released on DVD, but I have not seen any references to seasons four-nine.

In 2017 a reboot was made of One Day at a Time. Three original cast members showed up on the new series. Phillips appeared as a counselor and former veteran leading a support group with PTSD, Glenn Scarpelli was in season three, and Lembeck directed the season one episode “Sex Talk.”

The remake was developed by Gloria Calderon Kellett and Mike Royce with a Latino cast for Netflix. The stars were Justina Machado, Todd Grinnell, Marcel Ruiz, Stephen Tobolowsky, and Rita Moreno. The Cuban family lives in LA. A single mother and former veteran dealing with PTSD, Penelope Alvarez (Justina Machado) lives with her daughter, Elena (Isabella Gomez), and son Alex (Marcel Ruiz), and her mom Lydia (Rita Moreno). Pat Schneider (Todd Grinnell) is the supervisor. Penelope works for Dr. Leslie Berkowitz (Stephen Tobolwsky). The reboot also focused on some tough subjects including mental illness, immigration, sexism, homophobia, gender identity, and racism. It aired for four seasons.

The critics were all on board. It was listed as one of the best shows of 2017 and received a variety of awards including four Emmy nominations. Robert Lloyd of the Los Angeles Times wrote that it was “lively without being rushed” and David Wiegand of the San Francisco Chronicle felt it “was nicely written . . . and the performances are almost universally engaging.” Verna Gay of Newsday called Machado “flat out terrific.”

This time around, Gloria Estefan sang “This Is It.”

The series was canceled after four seasons. The network said it did not have enough viewers, despite the fact that Rotten Tomatoes gave it a 100% rating for every year. It was praised for dealing with many hard subjects and featuring a matriarchy of three generations of women who make their way through life and support each other even when they don’t agree with each other.

I think that the failure of this show to make it to five seasons is a common factor that we will see in streaming shows. Networks had more of an incentive to keep shows around when there were fewer options. Now there are so many shows available that it’s almost impossible to know what is available to watch. Considering that three networks used to get most of the viewers tuning in, now you can multiply that by hundreds. I’m not sure what it will take to keep a show running more than three years anymore.

I hope you enjoyed taking a look at four reboots that succeeded in bringing back original viewers and building a new fan base for themselves. I’d love to hear if any of these were shows you would root for.

Tom Poston, One of the Busiest Men in Hollywood

August 16, 2021 / thewritelife61 / 2 Comments

When I decided to do research for a blog series about some of my favorite sitcom actors, I knew Tom Poston had to be on the list. Poston seems to be someone who’s always a bit under the radar, and I’m not sure he ever received the accolades he deserved.

Image result for images of tom poston — Photo: wikifandom.com

Poston was born in 1921 in Columbus, Ohio. His father was a liquor salesman and dairy chemist, an interesting combination. Poston started at Bethany College in West Virginia but joined the Air Force in 1941. He went to flight school and served as a pilot in the European Theater for WWII and was part of the Normandy invasion.

After returning home, he decided to move to New York City to study acting and graduated from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts.

He was cast in his first television show, Tom Corbett, Space Cadet, in 1950. In 1955 Poston married actress Jean Sullivan. They would divorce in 1968, having one daughter.

He continued receiving dramatic roles throughout the early fifties. In 1956 he joined the Steve Allen Show, along with his cast mates Don Knotts and Louie Nye. In 1959 he won the Best Supporting Actor Emmy for his work on the show. In 1960 The Steve Allen Show moved to Los Angeles and Poston decided to remain in New York, but Tom and Don Knotts stayed life-long friends. He appeared on Broadway often and began making the game show circuit and continued accepting drama roles on the small screen.

Image result for images of tom poston steve allen show — With Steve Allen cohorts Don Knotts and Louis Nye–Photo: tumbral.com

When Mel Brooks was putting together the pilot for Get Smart, ABC was planning on airing the show and they wanted Tom for the star. However, when ABC declined the show and when NBC picked it up, Don Adams got the lead; Poston did appear on the show as a KAOS bad guy.

Poston married for the second time in 1968 to Kay Hudson with whom he had two children. They divorced in 1975 but remarried in 1980 and remained husband and wife until her death from ALS in 1998.

Image result for images of tom poston and bob newhart — The Peeper–Photo: pinterest.com

In 1975, he began recurring roles on two different sitcoms: On the Rocks and The Bob Newhart Show. On the Rocks was a show about the friendly rivalry between prisoners and their guards. On the Bob Newhart Show, Poston played “The Peeper,” Bob’s college buddy and big .prankster.

In 1977, Tom took on the role of Damon Jerome, photographer on We’ve Got Each Other. Beverly Archer played his assistant while her husband Stuart Hibbard (Oliver Clark) did the cooking and house cleaning. The show was cancelled after 13 episodes.

Image result for images of tom poston mork and mindy — Photo: thetodayshow.com

He appeared on a variety of shows during the late seventies and from 1979-1981, he portrayed grouchy neighbor Franklin Delano Bickley on Mork and Mindy. Poston said the role he played on the show was written for him. He said Robin was hysterically funny all the time. He said Pam Dawber was a comic genius because she was able to keep the focus on both Mork and Mindy, because anyone else would have been lost in Robin’s antics.

Image result for images of tom poston newhart cast — Photo: dailyamerican.com

He moved from Colorado on that show to Vermont the next year when he became George Utley, handyman on Newhart. For eight seasons he worked at the Stratford Inn, becoming friends with Dick and Joanna. He was nominated for an Emmy in 1984, 1986, and 1987. (Pat Harrington won in 1984 for One Day at a Time and John Laroquette won for Night Court in 1986 and 1987.)

In an interview with the Television Academy, Poston discussed the last episode of Newhart. He said the cast members were kept in the dark about the ending. He said he was in the stands with the audience when that last scene with Suzanne Pleshette and Bob as Bob Hartley waking up from his “dream” was filmed. He said Bob’s wife Ginny had the idea, and Tom thought it was fabulous.

From 1990-1991, you could find him in Good Grief, playing Ringo Prowley, in a show set in a mortuary; when that show was cancelled, he was back with Bob Newhart on Bob as Jerry Fleisher.

Image result for images of tom poston that seventies show — That Seventies Show–Photo: tvmaze.com

During the 1990s, he would accept five recurring roles: Mr. Looney on Family Matters, Phineas Swenson on Murphy Brown, Dr. Art Hibke on Coach, Floyd Norton on Grace Under Fire, and Burt Sigardson on That Seventies Show. In between, he also managed to find time to guest star on more than thirty other shows including Home Improvement, Cosby, ER, The Drew Carey Show, and Will and Grace. He also accepted roles on the big screen in twelve movies during his career, the last two being The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement and Christmas with the Kranks, both in 2004, as well as 15 Broadway productions.

Image result for images of tom poston suzanne pleshette — Working together in 1959–Photo: pinterest.com

Tom tried married life once again in 2001 when he married actress Suzanne Pleshette. They were married until his death in 2007 from respiratory failure.

I was just amazed by Tom Poston’s career: a ton of television appearances–he probably had more recurring roles than almost any other actor during that time; a well-respected big screen career, a variety of Broadway roles and many gameshow stints. He was nominated for five Emmys, winning one. He always made the rest of the cast look better. I truly enjoyed getting to know a bit more about Tom Poston, one of our greatest sitcom stars.

The Courtship of Eddie’s Father: A Different Love Story

June 17, 2019 / thewritelife61 / 4 Comments

In our quest to celebrate some of our favorite fathers, we jump into the world of Tom Corbett on The Courtship of Eddie’s Father.

THE COURTSHIP OF EDDIE”S FATHER, Bill Bixby, Brandon Cruz, 1969-1972. TM and Copyright (c) 20th Century Fox Film Corp. All Rights Reserved. Courtesy:
**Photo: tvdads.com**

The series debuted on television in September of 1969 and lasted until spring of 1972. The show was based on a 1963 film starring Glen Ford and Ron Howard, which was based on a novel, The Courtship of Eddie’s Father by Mark Toby.

Tom Corbett (Bill Bixby) is a magazine publisher in his 30s. His wife Helen passed away, and he is raising his son Eddie (Brandon Cruz) who is six with the help of his housekeeper Mrs. Livingston (Miyoshi Umeki). Eddie thought his father needed to remarry, so he plotted to set his father up with various women. As the show continued, the plots were less about Tom marrying and more around daily life for him and his son. Rounding out the cast is Norman (James Komack), Tom’s friend and photographer for the magazine; Tina (Kristina Holland), Tom’s secretary; and Joey (Jodie Foster), Eddie’s friend.

Mrs. Livingston was a bit formal, but we also saw her smile at some of Eddie’s antics. We knew she cared about him. She called Tom “Mr. Eddie’s father.”

Miyoshi Umeki who played Mrs. Livingston would retire from acting after the show went off the air. She went to work with her husband who had a film editing equipment and rental business.

It was a talented cast, and everyone seemed to work well together. Tom was a loving and fun father but also made sure Eddie had discipline when necessary. With all the chaos going on in America like the Vietnam War and the Manson Murders, it was a heart-warming show about a unique family. Each episode ended with a heart-to-heart talk between father and son.

Here is a typical plot from the show. This episode from 1972 was titled “The Choice”: Tom starts dating Eddie’s substitute pediatrician, Liz Park. Before things get too serious between the two of them, Liz tells Tom that she is going to Switzerland for three years to study. Although they are attracted to each other, and it will be hard to break up, they decide to keep dating till she leaves. When they get closer, she decides not to go to Switzerland. After one of their dates, they come back to Tom’s and find Eddie with a high fever. Liz treats him and she realizes that pediatric surgery, her chosen field, is too important to give up and ends up leaving for Switzerland.

There was an impressive list of guest stars on the show including Willie Aames, Yvonne Craig, Bill Dana, Sammy Davis Jr., Will Geer, Pat Harrington, Tippi Hedren, Carol Lawrence, Anne Meara, Erin Moran, Pat Morita, Suzanne Pleshette, Lori Saunders, Jerry Stiller, Sally Struthers, Cicely Tyson, and George Takei.

James Komack was not only part of the cast, but he was the creator and executive producer of the show. During the run of the show, Bixby would try his hand at directing and directed eight episodes. (He would go on to direct 92 other episodes of shows as well as tv movies.) Other directors on the show included Hal Cooper, Harry Falk, Randall Hood, Leslie Martinson, Alan Rafkin, and Bob Sweeney.

The popular theme song was written and performed by Harry Nilsson. While the show was playing, scenes of Tom and Eddie bonding in various moments appeared. The lyrics were:

People let me tell you ’bout my best friend,

He’s a warm-hearted person who’ll love me till the end.

People let me tell you ‘bout my best friend,

He’s a one boy cuddly toy, my up, my down, my pride and joy.

People let me tell you ’bout him he’s so much fun

Whether we’re talkin’ man to man or whether we’re talking son to son.

Cause he’s my best friend.

Yeah, he’s my best friend.

Bixby received an Emmy nomination in 1971. (In that same year, Komack was nominated for producer and Umeki was nominated for a Golden Globe for supporting actress.) The show continued to have good ratings for season two, but during the third season, Komack started putting more emphasis on his role. Bixby didn’t agree with the focus and ratings began to plummet, and the show was cancelled.

DVDs were released between 2011 and 2014.

Like so many of the popular 1960s shows, this one was slated for a reboot. Nicholas Cage wanted to remake the film but lost interest when his son got too old for the role. In 2003, the WB filmed a pilot based on the show with Ken Marino and Josh Hutcherson but it was never picked up.

Although the show was not real life, it did mirror it. Cruz came from a broken home and when it got too unbearable to stay there, Bixby let Brandon live with him. Cruz said Bixby’s life had some sadness and despair in it. His six-year-old son died from a throat infection and his wife, actress Brenda Benet, committed suicide less than a year after.

Cruz is now a case manager for Walking Miracles Malibu, a drug and alcohol recovery community. He has nothing but praise for Bixby. “James Komack was the producer, writer, co-star and director, but Bill set the tone of what went on the set. If Bill was happy, everybody was happy because he was the easiest guy to work with when he was happy, and that was pretty much all the time. He was a very private guy, he didn’t let a lot out.”

Brandon relayed something that occurred on the set one day. “He showed everybody how to treat other people nicely. A guy got fired on the set one day, and I don’t know what he’d done, but he was one of my favorite guys on the crew. I told Bill, ‘Hey, I really like that guy.’ And he got his job back because Bill wanted me happy. It’s just the way he worked. It was a big family, and everybody loved working on that show.”

Cruz and Bixby stayed close and in touch till Bixby died. They called each other on their birthdays, and Brandon’s son is named Lincoln Bixby Cruz.

The show demonstrated how close and loving Tom and Eddie were. They truly were best friends, and it’s nice to know some of that closeness carried over into their real life as well.